The Illegal Aliens
by Qelah Sebatyne
Summary: I'm Stacey. Here's how I ended up on DS9.
1. The Glassmaker's Shop

Island of Grayson, planet of Emerald Haven

The work day was almost over.

I tapped buttons on the control pad, and molten glass began to flow from the reservoir into the mold that would form the last restaurant serving spoon I intended to make today. Then I sat down to monitor the addition of colorant at precise intervals.

Ding!

The door of my shop opened. I looked up –

And caught my breath as I found myself looking into the brown eyes of the most gorgeous man that I had ever seen. He was wearing a blue-and-black uniform that was clearly not of Havenese origin.

He stopped and let out a small, involuntary gasp as my blue eyes met his.

I shook myself and took a deep breath. "Hello, may I help you?"

He took a step forward. "I'm Dr. Julian Bashir, Chief Medical Officer of the _USS Defiant_. You can all me Julian."

"A Starfleet officer, I presume?"

"That's right," he confirmed.

I stood up, flipped my long black curls over my shoulder, and walked around in front of the mold machine. I stuck out my hand. "I'm Anastasia Callahan, master glassmaker. Call me Stacey."

Julian grasped my hand firmly, sending a delicious thrill down my spine. "Pleased to meet you." He didn't let go of my hand.

I didn't make him.

Eventually, with obvious reluctance, he did let go. He took a deep breath. "So," he said, "you're a glassmaker?"

"Yeah. Let me show you what I do." I handed him one of the spoons I had made earlier in the day. It was about thirty centimeters long and blue, with green and yellow swirls throughout.

Julian turned the spoon over in his hands. He whistled. "This is exquisite." He mimed spooning food onto an imaginary plate. "And it weighs a ton."

I chuckled. "Yes, it does. And it's virtually unbreakable. Our glassmaking tradition is really quite bizarre, in comparison to most other planets, including Old Earth."

"How so?"

"Well, you may have noticed coming in that the entire land surface of Emerald Haven is made up of volcanic archipelagoes. Because of the unique geomorphology of the planet, we have no oil reserves and very little accessible metal ores. But resources we have in abundance include volcanic sand, diamond, and wood. So the vast majority of our technology is made from those three things."

I sat back down at the machine. Julian moved to watch over my shoulder as I guided the machine through the addition of various ingredients, explaining the steps as I pressed the proper buttons.

"Fascinating," Julian commented.

"Don't say that too loud," I replied. "Glassmaking is considered an exclusively female pursuit. I'm breaking hundreds of years of tradition by showing you this."

Julian's hand briefly touched my shoulder. I sucked in my breath. "Your secret's safe with me."

I turned around to look up at him. "So, tell me, is being drop-dead gorgeous a prerequisite for joining Starfleet?"

He chuckled, looking embarrassed. "No. But I don't know if I'd call myself 'drop-dead gorgeous.'"

"You're certainly way hotter than any man on Emerald Haven," I shrugged.

His face turned even redder.

I changed the subject. "So, I'm pretty sure you didn't come in here just for a glassmaking lesson. What's your real reason for being here?"

Julian sighed and sat on the edge of a nearby table. "I came to ask questions, and yours was the only shop that was obviously open."

I glanced at my chrono. Wow, it really was that late.

I turned back to Julian. "Go ahead."

"Do you happen to know if any ships have crashed on your world lately?"

"Hmmm." I thought for a moment. "About a week ago, I saw something crash about halfway up the side of the Smoking Cone. I guess it must've been a ship, because they sent out a war party the next morning."

Julian's face went white. "A _war_ party?!"

I put my hand on Julian's arm. "Unfortunately, our government is ridiculously xenophobic. My ancestors came to Emerald Haven just as the Federation was forming. They didn't think humans should have contact with other species."

Julian waited, his arms crossed and his jaw set.

"My family raised me to be curious about other species and places," I continued. "But the conservatives continue to keep a stranglehold on the government. That's why they generally kill off-world visitors on sight. And why I'm going to have to struggle to protect you while you're here."

Julian still said nothing.

Leaving the glassmaking machine, I sat down on the edge of the table and draped my left arm over Julian's shoulders. "You knew someone on that ship?" I guessed.

Julian sagged. "It was my brother Jeffrey's ship." His tone of voice was ragged and hollow. "He's a freighter captain. His wife Talina and eight-year-old daughter Allana were onboard with him. I was afraid it would turn out to be something like this because, even though Jeff's distress call included some pretty specific information about where they were crashing, when I got here, I couldn't find the ship. It's almost as if someone put a cloaking device around the mountain."

"Someone probably did," I told him. "But that's a good sign, since it means they think there might be survivors. They'll leave it there until they confirm that everyone onboard is dead. So as long as the cloaking device is in place, we can hope that your brother and his family may still be alive."

Suddenly, the fatigue left Julian's body. He sat up straighter, as if some newfound sense of purpose were re-inflating him. "I owe it to my brother to find out what happened to him. Especially since I'm the only family member still talking to him."

"That stinks. Why?"

"Our parents didn't approve of Talina." Julian shrugged. "Not only was she not human, but Jeff rescued her from sex work. She'd become a concubine on a smuggling ship in an attempt to escape the grinding poverty of her home world."

"Oh. Awkward."

"Only because my parents refused to see Talina's value as a person, in spite of her desperate circumstances."

"Do you still talk to your parents?" I asked.

"Rarely. I'm not close to them. It's a long story."

We were both silent for several moments. My arm was still around him. I wasn't sure when he had adjusted his posture so that he was – ever so subtly – leaning against me. I began to gently rub his back. He inhaled sharply and leaned closer.

The mold machine dinged, letting me know it was transitioning into cool-down mode.

I ignored it for a minute or two, perhaps a hair longer than I should have. Then I squeezed Julian's shoulders. "That last spoon's almost done. You can stay at my house tonight. It's fully dark by now, so navigating the jungle on the side of the mountain is impossible, but at least we should be able to get you to my house without being seen. Then tomorrow morning I can show you how to get to the Smoking Cone."

"Thanks," Julian replied. "Once I know where it is, if I beam back to my ship, I should be able to beam directly onto the side of the mountain. That'll probably be the safest way to do it."

"I'm sure you're right," I acknowledged. But _damn_ , was I going to miss him when he was gone – and he'd only been in my shop for an hour!

I held onto him for one more long moment; then I forced myself to let go and stand up. I placed the newly finished spoon on a cooling rack and shut down the mold machine.

"Okay, Julian, let's go home."

He followed me through the front door of the shop. I turned off the lights and locked the door. I offered Julian my hand.

He took it without hesitation. We hurried down the street, like pair of mice scurrying through the darkness.

Before long we reached the shore, where I had tied up my boat early this morning. Julian looked surprised, but he clambered right in. I hopped in after him and fired up the engines. I hauled anchor, turned the boat around, and accelerated away from Grayson, toward my home island of Flora.

"It's so quiet," Julian observed. "What powers this thing?"

"A battery-operated engine charged by solar panels," I smirked. Having no oil reserves had been the mother of invention. I was pretty sure no other frontier world had such an advanced energy system.

" _Solar_? Huh. That's fantastic."

At that point we reached cruising speed, which meant the wind was too loud for us to speak. My hair streamed behind me as one of Emerald Haven's four moons rose on the horizon, far out to sea.

A couple minutes later, I decelerated into Flora, sliding to a gentle stop on the beach. I cast the anchor and turned off the engine. We got out and I led the way to my house. I let us in and locked the door behind us.

"Let's have a quick supper," I suggested. Julian followed me to the kitchen, where I filled two bowls with fish stew that I had made the night before. I heated them in the zapper and set the table.

Julian and I sat across from each other. Using a glass spoon that had come from my shop, he took a bite. "Mmmm, delicious."

We ate in companionable silence. When we finished, I brewed a pot of tea. I poured some into a cup and held it out to Julian.

"I'm offering you a special cup of tea," I explained. "It's called the Tea of Desire. It means I want you. If you drink from the cup, it means that you want me, too."

Julian took the cup. "A Havenese custom, I presume?" he asked, grinning.

"Yes."

"Very straightforward. I like it." He took a sip from the cup. "Nice flavor." He took another sip and placed the cup on the table.

I sat down on his lap. We wrapped our arms around each other, and our lips locked in a passionate kiss.

Eventually, our clothes found themselves on the kitchen floor, and we scurried into the bedroom.

It was turning out to be the best night ever.


	2. A Trip to Hell

THUD!

Julian and I sat bolt upright in bed.

THUD!

I tried to throw the covers back, but they were wrapped around us somehow.

 _CRACK!_

Someone had kicked in the front door!

We didn't even have time to move before six Planetary Security officers burst into the bedroom, phasers drawn.

One of the officers snatched Julian from my arms and hurled him to the floor. He cried out in pain as she drove her knee into his back.

" _NO!_ " I shrieked, launching myself at the officer.

Another officer spun and fired.

I vaguely sensed flying backward in a blaze of agony before everything went black.

When I came to, the first thing I was aware of was pain in my chest.

The second was the fact that I was on the floor, folded up against the wall.

The third came in a form of a terrifying question:

 _Where the hell is Julian?_

Forgetting the discomfort from the second-degree phaser burn on my chest, I scrambled to my feet. Luckily, there was only one place they could have taken him. Getting there would be no problem.

The hard part would be getting in.

I glanced at my chrono. It was still the dead of night, and would be for some time. I dressed in a black tunic and leggings and black boots. I strapped on my black tool belt. Then I grabbed my black backpack and scurried around the house, gathering the things I would need.

Luckily, I had had the presence of mind earlier in the night to hide Julian's uniform and weapon. I yanked them out of the freezer and shoved them into the bag.

I ran through the hole where the front door had been and leaped into my boat. I spun the little vessel around and raced out to sea so fast that my keel barely touched the water.

My destination was Emerald Haven's only prison island. It had been called "Hell" for so long that no one remembered what the island's real name was. It was a couple hundred kilometers from Flora, in the opposite direction from the Smoking Cone. I had no idea how long I had been unconscious. All I could do was pray that I would get there in time.

After what seemed like several eternities, I cut the engine and coasted into a tree-lined inlet on Hell's shore. I concealed the boat beneath the foliage and crept through the trees toward the main building.

I stopped at the edge of the clearing. There were two armed guards at the front door, and a couple more walking the perimeter. But no one was watching the open first-floor window on the side of the building. If I timed it just right…

I saw my chance.

I exploded out of the forest and sprinted for the open window. Grabbing the sill, I pulled myself up, got one leg through, and rolled the rest of the way in. I landed on the floor in a crouch.

There was no one in the hallway. Good.

Dusting myself off, I crept to the corner. I peeked around it.

One guard stood in front of the closed door to the interrogation room. He wasn't overly attractive, so that meant my first plan had a pretty good chance of working. But he was also only a little bigger than I was, so that meant I could take him if I had to resort to outright violence.

I pulled a corked bottle out of my pack. Putting on my best seductress' act, I sauntered around the corner.

The guard jumped half a meter in the air. "Wait… what… who are you?" he spluttered.

I held out the bottle. "Would you like a cup of _tea_?" I purred, batting my eyelashes.

"What? You can't…" Then lust took over. He snatched the bottle, popped the cork, and took a giant swig.

He began to sway as the sedative I had added to the tea began to take hold.

The bottle slipped from his fingers, and the guard toppled to the floor.

I leaped over him, scooping up his phaser and shoving it into my tool belt as I passed. Then I kicked in the door.

Julian was alone in the room.

He was strapped to a table that was tilted at about a sixty-degree angle. He was wearing nothing but makeshift underwear made from a torn sheet.

His entire body was covered with bruises and lacerations. His eyes were closed, and he wasn't moving.

For a moment, I was completely paralyzed. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to cry or murder the entire Havenese government.

Then my brain slowly started working again. Feelings of helplessness and rage wouldn't help Julian, but action might.

I raced across the room. I patted his face gently but urgently. "Julian, wake up!"

No response.

I shook his shoulder. "Wake up, damn it!"

His eyes fluttered open. His jaw dropped, just a little. "Stacey? How did you get in here?"

"I knocked out the guard. Now look alive, before he wakes up and kills us both!"

"Why are you risking your life to save me?"

"Oh, Julian, you know why." I kissed him briefly but emphatically, leaving no doubt as to my meaning.

Julian shook off his grogginess as I pulled a power cutter from my pack. Its tiny engine whined as its circular, diamond-tipped blade cut through his bonds as if they were made of putty.

He slid to the floor, and I helped him stand. Then I pulled his clothes out of my pack.

The sight of his uniform seemed to magically transform him. I had never seen anyone move so fast. He was fully dressed almost before I had finished handing the uniform to him.

He pressed the com badge on his chest. "Bashir to _Rio Grande._ Two to beam up."

Nothing happened.

"Bashir to _Rio Grande_. Respond!"

Nothing.

Julian cursed. "Damn it! My signal's being jammed."

It wasn't really a surprise. "Well, then I guess we'll have to do this the old-fashioned way. Come on." I grabbed his hand and raced from the room, over the body of the unconscious guard and around the corner. Julian stumbled along after me.

His injuries made it impossible for him to climb through the window, so I half-lifted, half-shoved him over the sill, then scrambled through myself. We landed in a heap on the ground outside. I helped him to his feet, and waited until the coast was clear.

We bolted for the tree line. We could only go about half as fast as I had on the way in, but we made it. We skidded into the inlet, where I all but dropped Julian into the boat. I dove in after him and hauled tail away from Hell.

Once we were clear, I looked over my shoulder. "Julian, you need to eat something and then sleep. I'll wake you up when we get to the Smoking Cone."

He nodded. "Thanks." He reached into the pack and started gobbling trail mix and guzzling water like a starving child.

Facing the way ahead, I raced for the open sea.


	3. The Smoking Cone

It was just before dawn when I skidded us to a halt on the shore of the Smoking Cone. The jolt woke Julian, and he sat up in the bottom of the boat.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Much better."

"Good." I stepped out of the boat, fully expecting to have to drag it into the underbrush all by myself, but Julian was able to lift one end and help me carry it. We got the boat concealed in half the time it would have taken me to do it on my own.

Wow. He really was a lot better. In fact, he looked nearly as healthy as he had when I first met him.

I strapped on my pack and turned to leave the thicket.

"Stacey, wait."

I turned.

Julian took me in his arms, sliding his hands between the backpack and my tunic. I leaned against him and buried my face in his neck, rubbing his back. He tightened his arms around me, squeezing me so hard that I found myself struggling to breathe.

"Sorry," he murmured into my hair. He loosened his grip just enough.

I could have stayed there forever.

After a couple of minutes, he lifted my chin and looked deep into my eyes. "I just want to thank you for saving my life."

I slid my hand over his shoulder and caressed his face. "Your love is the only thanks I need."

"You already have that." He pressed his lips against mine.

I leaned into him, deepening the kiss and making a silent vow that we would find a way to be together.

We held each other for another minute or two, before reality intruded. I stepped back. "Come on, let's go find your brother."

Julian and I left the clearing, hand in hand. It was easy to find the way up, because there was a trail that went about a third of the way up the mountain.

As soon as we entered the trail, Julian broke into an easy jog. I matched him step for step.

After about thirty minutes, we had to slow to a walk, but we were still making surprisingly good time. We stopped on a plateau for a quick lunch, then continued on.

It was midafternoon when the trail abruptly ended at a dense wall of foliage.

"Oh, man. You have _got_ to be kidding," Julian groaned.

"No one bothered to continue the trail because this is just about has high as anyone ever goes," I explained. "So it's climbing from here on in."

Julian groaned.

I gave him a quick kiss, then studied the wall of foliage for hand and foot holds. I started up.

Julian followed.

About two meters above the trail, I found a hole in the foliage that was a bit bigger than I was. I threaded through, and waited for Julian to join me in the jungle.

Once inside, it was easy to parse a path from one branch to another.

Well, it was easy for me, anyway. I kept having to stop to wait for Julian, who was constantly slipping, sliding and scrambling, making a ridiculous amount of noise that was accompanied by a muffled but colorful stream of curses.

"Oh, dear God," he panted as he slipped yet again and landed on his rump. "You didn't tell me you were half monkey."

I giggled. "I'm not, but I grew up climbing in these jungles."

He grunted. "Whatever. Lead on."

We climbed until dusk, when I called a halt because it was getting difficult to see. I found a terrific hollow in the forest that allowed us to descend all the way to the ground, from where it looked as if we were inside a vase made of vines.

Once we reached the bottom, we ate some more trail mix and drank some more water. There was a small stream running across the bottom of the vase, so I used my water purifier to refill our water jugs. I cut some vines and rigged a trap for small animals in the side of the vase.

By that time, it was almost completely dark. Julian yawned. "I'm exhausted, but I'll take the first watch."

"All right."

He held his arms out to me, and I scrambled into them. He kissed me good night, and I fell asleep with my head on his chest.

When Julian woke me, I felt as if I had barely been asleep. But it was time for second watch, so we switched places. We shared one long, lingering kiss, and then Julian fell asleep in my arms while I listened to the night sound of the jungle.

Before long, my eyelids began to grow heavy. I struggled to stay alert. I leaned down to kiss the top of Julian's head. I tried to imagine a glorious future for us.

And then…

Sunlight was pouring through the walls of the vase when I awoke to the sensation of Julian caressing my cheek. I opened my eyes to find him smiling up at me, his head still resting on my chest.

"Did you fall asleep?" he asked.

"Arghhh. Yeah, I guess I did. Sorry. I'm a civilian. I don't have your training."

"It's all right. You must've needed the sleep." Julian gently pulled my face downward, and we kissed.

Then it was time to get up. Now that there was enough light to see well, I discovered that the natural vase we had sheltered in for the night was a treasure trove of delicious wild foods. I dug for roots and gathered legumes, vegetables, and berries. I put it all in a bowl and handed it to Julian. "Here, prepare these."

There was a gruffik in my trap. I reached in and pulled out the furry, frantic rodent.

Julian stared at me in horror. "Is that a rat?"

"Nope, it's a gruffik. It's way tastier than a rat, and it's going to be a couple of steaks before I'm done with it."

Julian gulped, looking a bit green. "Whatever. Do what you've gotta do. I'll concentrate on the vegetables." He turned his back so he wouldn't have to watch.

I pulled a knife from my pack and cut the gruffik's head off. Julian winced at the sound of its tiny, gurgling, chopped-off scream.

I removed the rodent's skin and internal organs. Using a technique my father had taught me when I was eight, I deboned the carcass. I sliced what was left in half. The result was two steaks, each a little bigger than my hand.

I put the steaks in my lightweight portacooker and turned it on. Julian handed me the vegetable mixture, which I added with some water as soon as the gruffik was browned.

We shared a hearty breakfast. I put the leftovers in a conservator pouch, and then it was time to continue on.

We made better time today, for two reasons. First, we were full of hearty food. Second, Julian was becoming more accustomed to navigating what he called the "ridiculous" terrain.

The sun rose higher in the sky as we climbed. By mid-morning, we were breathless and sweaty as the way grew steeper and steeper.

I made my way along a stout branch that ran up the side of the cone, moving on all fours like a salamander, with Julian following close behind. I scanned ahead, looking for the next branch on our way.

" _Hey!_ "

I stopped short.

Julian scrambled up beside me, a question already forming on his lips. I made a shushing gesture, and he closed his mouth.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I strained to hear over the sudden pounding of my heart. Yes, there it was. The voice had come from far off, but it was coming closer.

Actually, it was several voices. They were all female, and they were shouting at one another as they scoured the woods for survivors of the starship crash.

I opened my eyes and put my hand on Julian's shoulder. "We've got get out of here. Planetary Security's coming right at us!"

The color drained from his face as he looked around wildly. "How do you know?"

"I can hear them."

"How can you hear anything over the cacophony of this jungle?"

"I grew up here, remember? Now shut up, so I can find us a place to hide!" Terrified of what would happen to Julian if Planetary Security found us, I didn't even notice my harsh tone.

Julian shut his mouth firmly.

I closed my eyes again, this time focusing my attention on the jungle sounds. At first, it was just birds and insects, and the occasional mammalian call. I listened harder. But then another sound reached my ears.

Barking.

My eyes snapped open. I turned to Julian. "Come on, this way." We hurried toward the sound of the barking.

It took about fifteen minutes of searching and descending several branches toward the jungle floor, but eventually we found the source of the sound. It was an enormous fallen log with a dense colony of arbivores on top of it. I led the way around to where the once mighty tree's roots had been yanked out of the soil when the giant fell.

The arbivores paid us no mind at all. They just kept barking.

The tree had long since hollowed out, leaving about a meter of clearance inside. I pointed into the darkness. "Get in there."

"Oh, what a nightmare." Julian grimaced, but he dropped to his knees and crawled in. I followed.

Once inside, we found a smaller side passage that hadn't been visible even from just above. We slithered into the hidden branch, out of sight of the entrance. Julian lay down on his stomach, training his phaser around the corner and covering the entrance.

"Okay, so let me get this straight," he said in a low voice. "Did I really just see a bunch of barking lizards buried to the waist in a dead tree?"

"No," I replied, chuckling softly. "They're called arbivores. They serve the same ecological function as mushrooms do on earth."

Julian thought for a moment. "Arbivore? You mean, as in 'tree eater?'"

"Exactly."

"Are they plants or animals?"

"Animals. They're sessile as adults, but their larvae look like salamanders and run around like mice."

Julian grunted. "That's bizarre." He turned back toward the entrance of the hollow tree.

We waited.

I couldn't hear the voices of the Planetary Security officers over the arbivores' barking, but I wouldn't need to. The arbivores would let us know when our enemies approached.

 _Scritch._

That sound was coming from directly above. I looked up, straining to see in the near darkness.

One of the arbivores was extending a probing mouthfoot toward Julian's back.

I swatted the hungry appendage away. It retracted with a loud _sluuurp_.

Julian spun around. "What the hell was that?"

"One of the arbivores wanted to see if you were edible," I replied, patting his leg.

"But weren't their heads pointed up…" His voice trailed off as the truth dawned. "You mean, they eat with their _feet_?"

"Yup."

"Then what the hell do they use their mouths for? I mean, besides barking?" Julian gestured toward the racket continuing above.

"Ah, well. Reproduction."

"Oh." He turned back toward the entrance.

We lay in silence, listening to the barking above. I kept watch for more curious mouthfeet. None descended.

The arbivores' barking abruptly ceased.

My heart leaped into my mouth. I strained to listen. Mere seconds past before I could hear the shouted orders of the Planetary Security officers moving toward us.

Julian suddenly tensed, and I knew he could hear it, too.

The officers arrived. Arbivores screamed as heavy boots trampled them, shaking our hiding place below. I held my breath as Julian prepared to fire.

But then the officers moved on, their voices slowly fading in the distance as they continued stalking their prey.

I let my breath out in one huge _whoosh_ of relief. Apparently, the arbivores' extremely strong life signature had masked ours, just as I had hoped.

Julian turned around. "Can we get out of here now?"

"Yeah. Go ahead."

We scrambled out of the log and back up onto the branch that had brought us here. We looked down at our former shelter and the dead and dying arbivores now sprawled on top of it.

Julian turned away abruptly, putting his hand to his mouth. "Oh, dear God."

I put my arm around him. "They died to save us," I said quietly. "But that's Planetary Security's fault, not ours." I turned back to the log. "Thank you, arbivores. May you rest in peace."

Then I led Julian back to the path we had been following before Planetary Security had chased as away. We grabbed a quick lunch on a moss-covered branch, finishing off our leftover breakfast. We continued on our way up the mountain.

When dusk fell, I found us a cave that was formed partly by a rock outcropping and partly by an ancient hollow tree. It was less than half the size of the vase where we had spent the previous night, but it was just as secure. We scrambled in, arranging the leaves to conceal the entrance.

Julian struggled to brush the thick, accumulated grime off his uniform. "Ugh. I don't think I've ever been so dirty and smelly in my entire life."

"I haven't either." I pulled the elastic off the end of my braid and shook out my hair, sending a cloud of, well, crap, flying everywhere.

"But I don't care." Julian put his arms around me and kissed me. I kissed him back.

We shared a light supper from our provisions. I reset my rodent trap. Then we settled in for the night.

Julian moved close to me. He eased me onto my back, pinning me gently to the ground with his body.

I reached up and wrapped my arms around him.

In the fading light, he gazed into my eyes for a long time. When he spoke, his voice was so soft that I almost had to strain to hear him.

"If we get out of this alive, will you marry me?"

I smiled up at him. "Yes. Of course."

He drew me closer. He leaned down and covered my lips with his.

And in that perfect moment, I could almost forget that we were locked in a deadly race against time to save a child and her parents from the murderous bastards of Planetary Security.

Almost.

The next morning, we ate another breakfast of gruffik and fresh vegetables. We packed our things and continued on.

The way was getting steeper and steeper. We cut our pace in half as we struggled to find purchase on the now nearly vertical branches.

How much farther would we have to go?

As it turned out, we were getting close. We had been climbing for only an hour or two when I found it: a sheared-off branch.

I stopped. Julian waited as I studied the cut. Then I adjusted our course.

A few minutes later, we were rewarded with a toppled sapling. And then, a branch with all of its twigs shaved off.

We followed the path of destruction as it became more and more distinct. Finally, we burst through a hole in the canopy.

We looked up. About three meters above us there was a rocky ledge. And on that ledge lay a wreck.

Julian grabbed my arm. "That's Jeff's ship!" he whispered excitedly.

The wreck lay on its side, with an open hatch pointing toward the sky. The wall between us and our goal was covered by a dense mass of vines that wove over and around each other, almost as if they had been purposefully braided.

I started up. The spaces between the vines were so small that it was like trying to climb chicken wire. I made it to the ledge, and then used exposed girders and bits of torn battle steel to scale the hull. Three times my precarious hand or footholds threatened to give way under my weight.

Heart pounding, I managed to adjust my weight at the last moment.

Finally, I perched on the edge of the hatch. I reached down and helped Julian the rest of the way up. We tumbled through the hatch and landed in a heap on the bulkhead below.

We sorted ourselves out and stood up. There were no lights inside the wreck, so I pulled a torch from my pack and turned it on.

Hand in hand, we searched every compartment of the ship. Some were in better shape than others, but we were at least able to shine the torch into just about every nook and cranny, even if we couldn't fit ourselves.

Eventually, we made our way back to the hatch. "There's no one here," Julian said. "Which means they survived the crash."

"With any luck, they continued further up the mountain after they left the ship," I added.

"Why?"

I sighed. This was going to sound stupid. "Well, according to mythology, the planet breathes through the Smoking Cone. The Planetary Security goons are less likely to search thoroughly this high up, because they don't want to anger the ghosts that protect the planet's nostril."

Julian put his hands on his hips. "And do you believe that… garbage? Sorry."

"Not really. But if I see a ghost, I'll talk to it. If I explain why we're here, it'll probably help us search."

"Whatever. Lead on," Julian sighed, thrusting a hand through his filthy hair.

We had to pile a heap of wreckage under the hatch so we could reach it to climb out. We headed upward.

I led the way slowly, stopping every few meters to listen and look. We had been moving like this for perhaps half an hour when I suddenly stopped.

I sniffed the air.

Yes, there it was. That way.

I motioned for Julian to come close. There almost wasn't enough room on the branch for us to perch side by side, but he managed to put his head next to mine.

"Someone's cooking," I whispered.

" _Cooking_?" Julian stared at me, baffled. "How do you know?"

"I smell the campfire."

Julian shook his head. "A half-monkey that has a nose like a dog. Yeah, I know, you grew up here, but _damn_."

"I hope the cooker is someone from your family," I continued in a low voice. "But just in case it isn't, we need to be very quiet."

Julian nodded.

We set off again, this time with me following my nose. Before long, I could smell the meat cooking over the fire. Then we came to a place where the trees abruptly stopped at the edge of a rocky outcrop.

In the middle of the rock there was a campfire with a gruffik roasting on a spit. On the far side of the fire was a brown-haired girl about eight years old.

Bingo!

I climbed onto the rock, and Julian followed.

"Allana?" he called softly.

The little girl's head snapped up. "Uncle Julian?" she blurted, gaping in astonishment.

"It's me," he confirmed.

Allana flew around the campfire and hurled herself into Julian's arms. He hugged his niece tightly. After clinging to him for several moments, she wriggled free.

She looked at me. "And who are you? You look like a jungle cat."

"Oh. Sorry." I hadn't realized I was still in climbing mode, braced on all fours, primed and ready to spring. I relaxed onto my heels. "I'm Stacey."

"She's going to be your aunt someday," Julian added, draping an arm around my waist.

"Oh," Allana said. "Then I'll get some cousins."

Julian and I looked at each other, trying not to laugh. Allana really was a cute kid.

"Allana, where are your mom and dad?" Julian asked, getting back to the subject at hand.

"Daddy's looking after Mommy. She fell down and got hurt."

"Where?" Julian demanded. "Show me."

"This way." Allana darted away.

Julian and I scrambled to follow. The kid was _fast_. The adaptability of youth was truly amazing. Allana was almost as proficient at navigating the jungle as I was, and she'd only been on Emerald Haven for a little over a week!

Less than five minutes later, Allana led us around a fat thicket. She stopped.

On the far side, a woman lay on what passed for the ground up here. A man knelt at her side.

Julian pushed his way forward. "Jeff?"

The man spun around. "Julian! Thank God you're here."

Julian hurried to his brother's side and dropped to his knees beside Talina. He began to carefully examine his sister-in-law.

"Julian, try your com badge again," I suggested. "We should be above the jamming field by now."

He pressed the badge. "Bashir to _Rio Grande_. Five to beam up."

And then space went all weird.


	4. Escape to DS9

There was no time for me to process the fact that I had just beamed somewhere for the first time.

The moment our feet hit the deck of _Rio Grande_ , Julian leapt into action. "Jeff, take the controls and get us the hell out of here. Stacey, help me get Talina to the medbay."

Jeff dove into the pilot's couch and started punching buttons. Allana looked over his shoulder, her brown eyes wide.

Julian lifted Talina's torso while I lifted her legs. It was appallingly easy, since she was little more than skin and bones. His eyes met mine, his face creased with worry.

We hurried to the medbay, with Julian leading the way. We gently laid Talina on an examining table. I backed out of the way so Julian could do his work.

He made use of a number of medical instruments that hummed, dinged, chirped, and beeped. Some of them emitted light of various colors. After each instrument, Talina looked just a tiny bit healthier.

It was truly amazing. Clearly, Federation medicine was much more advanced than what I was used to back on Emerald Haven.

Julian worked for about fifteen minutes. Then he turned around. "I've got her stabilized for transport. _Rio Grande_ 's medbay is so basic that the rest will have to wait until we get back to the station."

I moved to Talina's bedside. Her eyes were closed, and she appeared to be resting peacefully.

Julian put his arm around my waist. I leaned against him.

After a couple of minutes, he said, "Now that we have the time, let me look at that nasty phaser burn on your chest."

I stripped off my filthy tunic. The blisters had long since popped, and the wound was peeling like crazy.

"Does it hurt?" Julian asked as he took a close look.

"I've kind of been too busy to notice," I shrugged.

Julian picked up something and pointed it at my chest. The instrument whirred softly, emitting a gentle green glow. He swept it over the wound, back and forth, back and forth.

After a handful of seconds, the wound was completely gone!

I gaped in befuddled astonishment. "That's incredible! How did you do that?"

"Just something I learned in med school," Julian shrugged, grinning. He put the instrument down on a nearby table and wrapped his arms around me. I clung to him tightly.

I didn't know how long we'd been holding each other when Jeff's voice suddenly blared from the speaker. "Julian, I need you in the cockpit. We're approaching DS9."

"On my way," Julian replied, releasing me. He hurried out of the medbay.

I slithered back into my tunic and scurried after him.

In the cockpit, Jeff relinquished the pilot's chair to Julian, who sat down and began pressing buttons. _Rio Grande_ slowed and changed course.

Julian pressed another button. " _Rio Grande_ to Ops."

"This is Kira," a female voice responded from the speaker. "Welcome home, Doctor. Did you find your family?"

"Mission accomplished," Julian confirmed. "Have a medical team meet us at the airlock."

"Understood. You're cleared for Bay Eleven. Ops out."

It took Julian about five minutes to guide _Rio Grande_ into the docking bay. As soon as the ship was secured, he stood up and opened the hatch.

The medical team he had requested rushed in. Julian directed them toward sick bay.

The medics were followed more slowly by a black man in a Starfleet uniform. "Welcome back, Doctor. I understand from Major Kira that your misson was a success."

"Yes, sir. The medics are waiting for my help with my sister-in-law, Talina, who is injured. But before I rush off, allow me to present my brother Jeffrey and my niece Allana. And this," Julian continued, draping an arm over my shoulders and pulling me to him, "is my fiancée, Stacey Callahan."

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Commander Sisko, the commander of this station." He stuck his hand out, and we shook firmly.

"Likewise."

He smiled as he turned to leave. "Welcome to DS9."

2


End file.
